Finding aid encoded by Cheri Thies
April 2006Finding aid written inEnglishAugust 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman.
OVERVIEW
Minnesota Historical SocietyMinnesota. Department of Human
Services. Adoption Unit.Maternity,
children, and women's homes records.1880-1968 (bulk
1880-1936).Records documenting four Twin Cities
institutions created and operated to provide care and temporary housing for
children and women, the Bethany Home/Harriet Walker Maternity Hospital
(1880-1942), the Children's Home Society/Home for Children and Aged Women
(1881-1935), and the Maternity Hospital/Ripley Hospital for Women (1884-1968,
bulk 1884-1923), all in Minneapolis, and the Women's Christian Home/Union
Gospel Mission Home in St. Paul (1880-1936).10.0 cubic feet (6 boxes
and 6 half-height oversize boxes).See Detailed Description for shelf
location
SCOPE AND CONTENTS

These records, which document patients' progress from admission to
discharge, and often after discharge, include personal health and familial
histories, many with pregnancy, birth, and adoption information; death records;
and a small amount of data relating to diphtheria (1909-1910) and measles
(1918) epidemics. Included are admission ledgers and registration records;
medical history reports, records, and cards; and a limited number of financial
records, particularly relating to boarder payments.

ARRANGEMENT

Records are arranged first by home, there under by record type in
either alphabetical or chronological order.

OTHER FINDING AIDS

A volume/folder list is available in the repository; filed under
Human Services Department: Adoption Unit.

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Since a number of the records contain birth records, including
illegitimate births, those materials are closed for 100 years, pursuant to
Minn. Stat. 144.225. Adoption records of less than 100 years require a court
order for access, pursuant to Minn. Stat. 259.61, 259.83, and 259.89.

Bethany Home opened in 1876 on Sixth Street Southeast and
incorporated in 1879. It served unmarried pregnant girls, married women seeking
maternity care, and convalescing older woman who would otherwise be alone.
After several moves, it was established at 3701 Bryant Avenue in 1925. In 1930,
it was incorporated as the Helen Walker Maternity Hospital. The hospital closed
in 1945.

133.B.19.6F1Admissions registers, 1880-1890, 1902-1942.16 volumes.

Registers of admittances, discharges, births, marriages, future
residence of patient/baby, and deaths of babies; includes name, age, religion
and occupation of the woman, as well as a history and narrative background of
her condition.

January 1880 - October 1884.

Indexed; contains a Children without mothers section in the
back.

112.J.15.6F-12October 1884 - April 1890.

Indexed.

133.B.19.6F1October 1902 - June 1910.October 1902 - March 1909.

Indexed; some data is duplicated in the October 1902 - June
1910 volume.

March 1909 - February 1917.112.J.15.6F-12May 1917 - April 1920.April 1920 - October 1923.

Contain detailed medical information about the patient's
pregnancy and/or other illnesses, including symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment;
also record admittance, birth, confinement, and discharge dates.

September 1885 - January 1887,
September 1900 - December 1903.September 1885 - April
1894.December 1903 - January
1909.

Monthly record submitted to the Superintendent of the Poor;
includes names of boarders, financial information, boarding statistics (days in
home), and date of discharge or adoption. There are separate sections for
adults, children, and infants.

Documents admittance dates, health history (sometimes in a
narrative form), and information on birth, death, legitimacy, discharge to
parents or placement for adoption, and the parents. There are also entries
detailing diphtheria (1909-1910) and measles (1918) epidemics.

CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY/HOME FOR CHILDREN AND AGED WOMEN
RECORDS, 1881-1935

The Children's Home Society was incorporated on November 11, 1881
to "rescue from evil and misery such children as are deprived of their natural
protectors." Originally located 2200 Sixth Street South, by 1885, it was
located at 3200 Stevens Avenue. On June 23, 1885, its name changed to the Home
for Children and Aged Women.

112.J.15.7B-16Child case history summary cards, 1881-1935.

Alphabetical by child's last name. Entries vary, but may include
who admitted the child, date admitted, child's birth date and residence,
reasons for entrance, the name, nationality, occupation, and religion of both
parents, and date discharged and to whom.

Includes history of child and parents, including names,
nationality, religion, occupation, residence, child's birth date, brief medical
information, and admittance and discharge dates. May also include statistics
about child (including health) and information about the adoptive parents for
the State Board of Control. Some of the volumes' dates overlap.

October 1881 - October 1885.
1 folder.

Indexed.

October 1885 - April 1892.

Indexed.

133.B.19.9B8June 1892 - September 1898.

Indexed.

October 1897 - March 1907.

Indexed.

April 1907 - December 1915.

Indexed.

January 1916 - October 1921.

Indexed.

112.J.15.8F-19June 1918 - June 1924.

Indexed.

112.J.15.6F-24June 1924 - February 1928.

Indexed.

February 1928 - June 1935.

Indexed.

112.J.15.8F-19Roster of children, 1912-1922.1 volume.

Includes child's name, age, admittance and discharge dates,
condition or situation of parents, and cost and/or payment entries for each
month; also boarding and illness statistics.

MATERNITY HOSPITAL/RIPLEY HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN RECORDS,
1884-1968

The Maternity Hospital opened in November 1886 at 316 15th Street
Southeast; after at least one other location, its permanent residence was
established at 2215 Glenwood Avenue (corner of Glenwood and Penn avenues north)
in 1896. In 1955, the name was changed to the Ripley Hospital for Women in
honor of its founder, Dr. Martha G. Ripley. The hospital closed in 1956 due to
declining occupancy and funding problems.

Contains names of patients and babies admitted and birth and
adoption information, as well as addresses of females (employees, nurses, or
women offering work to patients). The volume is not complete or consistent.

Nursery (Marshall Stacy) register, 1909-1912.Births, Report of, 1884-1890.6 booklets.Reports to the City Clerk of the City of Minneapolis
Child History Record, 1906-1909.133.B.19.10F10Correspondence and records, 1895-1968.

Narrative accounts of hospital activities; may include
information about patient admittances/discharges, birth meetings, classes for
nurses, gatherings, donations, and payments. Some journals may have belonged to
the hospital matron.

Information may have been kept by the hospital matron and not
necessarily a physician.

President's register, 1901, 1905-1907.1 volume.

Includes Babies in House section, 1901, on page 129.

112.J.15.7B-27Patient cards, 1907-1923.1 card index box.

Three separate groups of index cards; organized alphabetically
by the name of the maternity patient, child, or the adoptive parents.

133.B.19.10F10Registration forms, 1908-1923.21 folders.

Arranged in alphabetical order with gaps; contain history of
circumstances and statistical background of mother and father. Many include
forms for reporting unmarried mothers to the State Board of Control.

The Women's Christian Home, located at 1245 North Hamline Avenue
in St. Paul, was opened on November 1, 1873. Sometime prior to 1916, the home
was transferred to the Union Gospel Mission and operated as the Union Gospel
Mission Home until its closure in November 1933.

Files for approximately 80 patients. Most, but not all, concern
illegitimate births. In several cases, the woman was discharged before
delivery. A few cases are for babies brought to the home for temporary care.
Most of the files contain data cards listing name, age, address, nationality,
occupation, and religion of the mother, and of the father if known; admission
and discharge dates; name of nearest relative; notes on the resolution of the
case; and payment data. Many files contain bedside notes documenting the birth
and post-partum care of mother and baby. Some include footprint cards of the
infant, Wassermann test reports, baptism records, and/or correspondence. Note:
These documents were originally held by the Department of Health and then
transferred to the Children's Bureau of the State Control Board. They have been
placed with this set of records for continuity and ease of research.

Case records correspondence, 1925-1936.

Concerning births in 1900, 1908-1915.

Death records, 1914-1932.3 folders.Deaths, September 1917 - February 1932.